OT - questions on disaster prep and MRE's

[HikerLT]

The recent disaster got me thinking, along with getting a recent flyer from Major Surplus and Survival ....regarding having a survival stash of a source of food - MRE's the best way to go ?

but, where is the best place on-line to get MRE's...... that you know have not exceeded the shelf servicable life. ?

Are there different brands, or are they all the same ?

[Plain George]

You can sometimes buy military MRE's but they are suspect as to date.
You want to read the label VERY careful as to the contents and shelf life.
You need to study and ask questions on some survival sites and get a consensus of opinions.
but
I am sure alot of people are thinking the same as you.
I have been prepared since early childhood.
These guys discuss the subject ad nauseum and if you can get past the tin foil hat paranoia, you can sometimes get some good insight.
http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi

[MikeC]

One thing to remember is that some of these items may be scarce right now due to people panic buying or buying to send to family that are hurting. Some vendors may raise prices right now as well.

[Plain George]

The problem with buying MRE's and such preps is that they are HEAVY.. Shipping kills you.
Look at 'surplus' stores, and gun shows etc...save on shipping.

[Enquiring Minds]

Originally posted by MikeC
One thing to remember is that some of these items may be scarce right now due to people panic buying or buying to send to family that are hurting. Some vendors may raise prices right now as well.

Good points! Fix your roof when the sun is shining, buy your MREs when there are no relevant disasters on the news.

Also remember there's nothing wonderful about MREs, except their "flat" packaging and portability in backpacks. They're not cheap either.

If you're staying put, regular ol' canned goods are just fine, and usually higher quality.

[MikeC]

Check EMS or REI or Hudson Trail Outfitters for camping grub. Not sure of the prices. Most camping food needs hot water to be re-hydrate it. The packaging may not be as durable as the MRE.

If you buy canned foods, don't forget the manual can opener if you have an electric opener in the kitchen.

If you buy canned, THINK first. Campbell's for example makes two types of soup. The older style is condensed and needs clean water and usually a pot to heat. The newer stuff is a larger can but needs no water. Open the can, use a pliers to put the can on heat source, heat for a bit, use pliers again to remove. No pots, no water.


NOTE, use a CLEAN pair of pliers to cook with.

Most canned soup has a 12-18 month shelf life. I'm lazy right, not bothering to look. If you are smart, you track your canned stocks and donate then to a food bank three to six months before they expire, that is after you buy new cans.

[Texas Tactical]

The advantage of MRE's is that you don't have to add water and that you can eat them without heating them up. The downside is size and weight. If you can find cases locally that is the way to go. MRE cases weigh about 23lbs and contain 12 meals each. The Date code is important as this will tell you when they were made. The more recent the better.

Another alternative are things like Mountain House and other back packing / long term storage foods. These are much better tasting than MRE's and they are stable in any temperature (they don't degrade in heat like MREs will), but the downside is that you need water and a way to boil that water to prepare them.

[Powderfinger]

You can feed a family of four for 2 months (albeit a boring menu) for about $200 on bulk dry and canned goods. beans, rice, peanut butter, tuna, chicken, fruit cocktail, flapjacks, oil, powdered milk, oatmeal, soup, etc. Such a stash should keep for 2 years. Of course this isn't generally "on the run" food. You will need some fuel and cooking tools.
Hunger makes the best sauce.;)

[MikeC]

One problem is that if you are either to stupid or dumb or unable to evacuate no food stuff is going to do you good if it is washed away from you. The same goes if you have a survival shelter say 150 miles away from home but you can't get out because you waited too long to bug out.

[MTS]

Cans are very durable. You can stock stuff that you are used to eating and rotate them out so they don't expire. Many canned foods can be heated in the (opened) can.


They're cheap, too.

[olsarg]

We date all food purchases and practice oldest used first. Also can meat and fish 18 pints at a time in my pressure cooker thats a lot of fast food. stock 500 pounds of potatos each fall cost is about $25 beats $2.00 for 10 pounds and we cook with LP and heat with wood. You can have snow storms here and ice storms and power outages.

[Snakeshot]

Go to your local grocery discount outlet store and get a cart.

Load up with whatever's on sale that you would eat. Cans of raviolis stew,chili, tuna, fruit, whatever looks good. Back it up with dried fruit, beef jerky, and lots of nuts. Get some on sale juices to wash it all down.


And keep LOTS of water on hand.

[mitchellh]

I just purchased a decent amount of MRE's, for disaster preparation, from Meyers Custom Supply, very professional service from Jeff Meyers.


http://www.meyerscustomsupply.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?

The more MRE's you purchase the lower the price.

Large amounts ship directly from the factory in SC.

Good Luck

[FortunateSon]

Texas Tactical, do you have military MRE's? The main advantage for me is the fact that you can keep a cold camp and still eat hot food if it is cold, which it often is at elevation in Montana during rifle season. Enough water (doesn't need to be potable) to work the supplied heater, about half a cup, and you have steaming hot food. No water needed at all if you eat the food cold. Water often is an issue for me.

[Frontman]

MRE's are convenient, but don't have the shelf life of regular canned food (except for the crackers, I've found unopened MRE crackers washed up on the beach with the wrappers covered in barnacles, but the crackers are still good).

Canned goods are heavy and somewhat inconvenient, but I lost my taste for MRE's after a steady diet of them in the Army.

[Farmer from Hell]

So whats the shelf life of your average Chef Boyardee product or other various canned goods like canned ham/dinty more.

I have some stashed and if its time to go I'll rotate them out or donate.

Personally Im pretty partial to Moutain House packages. Theyre pretty tastie and you dont need to mix stuff in different packages. Open pouch and pull out inner bag of dehydrated food. Pour in boiling water, close and reinsert in outer back and and let hydrate.

FfH

[Gunga Din]

Cheaper Than Dirt has a good selection of MRE entrees right now, 6 of one kind for $9.97; that is $1.67ea.

If you order $150.00 or more over the internet, shipping is free. This is the best deal I've found yet. You can choose the menu you want; you don't have to settle for an assortment..

[TheOtherChris]

For the uninitiated, keep in mid that an MRE is a Meal Read to Eat and includes entree, dessert, bread/cracker, seasoning, coffee, utensils, etc. in a heavy waterproof pouch.
the MRE entrees are just a pouch of a single serving food item.

Shelf life depends mostly on the temp at which they're stored. A cool basement will keep them for 3-5 years. The trunk of your car parked in the sun and you'll be lucky to get a couple of months.

Above all else, "Store what you eat and eat what you store."

[RT]

on the quest for food. what should a dieabetic do? as mre are not good for us or are they? and most can good's are full of salt and carbs. what say you~R

[stimpsonjcat]

Originally posted by rtgunsmoke
on the quest for food. what should a dieabetic do? as mre are not good for us or are they? and most can good's are full of salt and carbs. what say you~R

In a true SHTF we are probably screwed. I have a month+ of meds stored at all times, for a type 1 this will be tougher. The cheapest foods to store are all carb, protein will be harder to store and harder to get.

Type 1s will go quickly, type 2s may take years to actually die of it.

[Gunga Din]

I'm type 2. I regularly eat MREs, usually mixed with a can of soup and a dab of hot sauce. Makes a pretty decent low cost, low fuss meal. For me, (1) 500mg Metformin and (1) 5mg Glipizide will take care of it.

My daily dose is (4) 500mg Metformin and (4) 5mg Glipizide. (I have a friend who gets by on 1/2 of that.)

[RT]

thanks for the info. as i am strange and like MRE's. i am a sick bastar-. to like mre's~R and i am on the pill 2xa day avanda met 2/500 so i quess i need a BOB because i live in florida.? how do i bring all of my firearms with me.everything else i can replace .as i keep changing size xxl to xl:uhoh: ~Richard and stemp i will try to get a pic of my knife . i don't have a camera~R

[Stranger]

Originally posted by TheOtherChris
For the uninitiated, keep in mid that an MRE is a Meal Read to Eat and includes entree, dessert, bread/cracker, seasoning, coffee, utensils, etc. in a heavy waterproof pouch.
the MRE entrees are just a pouch of a single serving food item.

Shelf life depends mostly on the temp at which they're stored. A cool basement will keep them for 3-5 years. The trunk of your car parked in the sun and you'll be lucky to get a couple of months.

Above all else, "Store what you eat and eat what you store."

That 3-5 year mark is a "best taste" date and does not mean the meal will not be any good 10 years down the road. Those meals will stay edible for a couple decades if kept below 70F. The only thing that will be affected is the taste and texture of the food. The fats iin meat will start to degrade and go rancid but that doesn't make it inedible.

If your last statement is true I better go load up on pickled jalapenos!

[TheOtherChris]

Originally posted by Stranger


That 3-5 year mark is a "best taste" date and does not mean the meal will not be any good 10 years down the road. Those meals will stay edible for a couple decades if kept below 70F. The only thing that will be affected is the taste and texture of the food. The fats iin meat will start to degrade and go rancid but that doesn't make it inedible.

If your last statement is true I better go load up on pickled jalapenos!

All true, but edible is usually subjective and one of the reasons why MREs are known by some as "Meals Rejected by Everyone".

Store what you eat and eat what you store is important.

I knew people that stored lots of wheat because some guideline said that is what they should have. Unless your system is used to eating wheat, it is easy to starve to death if that is what you have because it will pass through you faster than a bottle of ExLax. Besides, if the fecal matter has hit the ventilator, there will be enough stress without having to deal with kids that get sick from food they're not used to. Just teach them to eat pickled jalpenos before the crisis and you're good to go.

[Stranger]

Originally posted by TheOtherChris


Just teach them to eat pickled jalpenos before the crisis and you're good to go.

I was thinking more about myself and immigrants. Guess I will have to load up on peanut butter and carrot sticks for the boys. :biggrin:

[Plain George]

http://www.ready.gov/npm/index.htm

[NewtoFals]

What you guys are forgetting is that mre's contain about 1500 calories per mre. If in a desperate situation 12 mre's is enough for 6 days.

[Eclipse]

One thing about MRE's - they taste much better when heated.

If you decide to spring for Meal Ready to Eat food, if possible also get some MRE heaters. Add 1/4 cup water to a bag containing a composite of magnesium and iron. The reaction gets hot enough for the water to boil.

[Raminator]

Does anybody have a list of items for a home 72 hour kit? We've got basics at our house, like toiletries, water (we are on a well), filtration, camp stoves, etc. If someone has a good checklist, I'd appreciate it.

-James

[Gunga Din]

Originally posted by NewtoFals
.....mre's contain about 1500 calories per mre.....
That would be for the whole meal. MRE entrees themselves are a good bit less.

This is the calorie content listed on the box for the MRE entrees I have right now:

Minestrone Stew 200 calories
Jambalaya with Ham and Shrimp 330
Veggie Burger in Barbecue Sauce 300
Chicken in Thai Style Sauce with Vegetable 240
Country Captain Chicken 210
Chicken, Noodles, Vegetables in Sauce 220
Chicken Tetrazzini 330

[JasonB]

Have MRE's changed formula or have my tastes changed? Back in the mid 90's I used to pick them up in the dark brown packs at surplus shops and with the exception of some of the too elaborate meals they tasted like regular off the shelf canned foods to me at worst. In the last couple of years I have gotten back in to hiking and backpacking and bought some of the new tan colored packs and the experience was similar to eating decent food while holding a multivitamin and mineral tablet in your mouth which I don't recall from the old ones. Ditto on being able to read the date codes on these since very few vendors know or will tell the truth that these things go bad. On the plus side when one is crapped out they have the most bizarre stench I have ever smelled:)

Mountain House stuff is tops in my opinion. Some of the other freeze dry outfits cook the ingredients separately then dump them in the bag and it shows in terms of taste and how well it returns to it's original form when you cook it. I am leaning away from the single/double serve bags of Mountain House due to the bulky packaging and will probably try some of the #10 cans the next time I order some which looks to be soon. While you do require water, according to Mountain House it doesn't have to be hot although I am sure the stuff tastes better. As has been pointed out, unless you are on the move, canned food lasts indefinitely and usually unless the can is swelled or damaged you are in good shape and some cans such as 3 serving size tuna isn't that bad to carry.

Look to the ultra lightweight tree and bunny hugging crowd for some ideas. Some stuff I have used with alcohol/white gas/fuel bar stoves are ramen noodles(couple of bucks per metric ton,) stuffing mix, noodles, instant mashed potatoes, powder milk & cereal pre loaded in to zip lock bags, pretzels, and some cookies for carb sources to name a few. Protein sources can be foil packs of chicken, tuna, jerky, powdered milk, and various other bagged or canned meats at Wal Mart.

Cooking this stuff isn't too big of a deal as long as you keep it simple. I found out last weekend food can be cooked in zip lock freezer bags by dumping boiling water in on the dried food inside and my maiden front yard effort with this was successful and I should be able to give a field test report soon as well. Beyond that a lightweight teflon coated and/or hard anodized aluminum quart pot makes for easy clean up with dehydrated foods. Bring your water up to a boil, dump in your food, then remove from the heat and you shouldn't have problems with food sticking especially with the addition of a little oil to the boiling water. Most of the dried foods I can think of require only a cup of water per serving to reconstitute at most and somethings I have read tend to point to the body being able to use this water in much the same was as drinking it so this isn't quite as big of a problem as it might seem.

Good thread by they way:)

[No Dog]

Ramen noodles can be eaten without cooking. Not too bad, actually.

[jwaters]

I like the combination approach. I keep MRE's for a short term solutioin, and definately take them in an evacuation situation. I realize they are heavy, but you dispense of the trash pretty quickly.

There are plenty of store foods that are good. If you ask any backpacker, you'll be amazed what you can cook.

I would only get real Military MRE's. Find someone selling them or have a Military buddy get some from the BX (though they aren't cheap there).

The biggest thing is to have a plan. Buy Crackers. They keep a long time.

Rice Cakes taste fine when you are hungry and there is peanut butter on them.

Bread goes bad, all these people that buy bread when the ice storm hits????

Canned Underwood Deviled Ham is really good, small can, most people eat it including wives and kids. I keep about 6 cans of it at all times.

Buy a Sharpie, put it in the Kitchen drawer, and write on every friggin thing you buy the date you bought it. Once in a while, I go thru the pantry and make of pile of things to eat up. I then restock.

I'm set up to take a majority of my canned food with me if I had to leave (by vehicle, obvioulsy).

[Powderfinger]

Originally posted by Farmer from Hell
So whats the shelf life of your average Chef Boyardee product or other various canned goods like canned ham/dinty more.

I have some stashed and if its time to go I'll rotate them out or donate.

Personally Im pretty partial to Moutain House packages. Theyre pretty tastie and you dont need to mix stuff in different packages. Open pouch and pull out inner bag of dehydrated food. Pour in boiling water, close and reinsert in outer back and and let hydrate.

FfH

Most canned goods I've seen seem to have a 2 yr. "Best before ---" date/shelf life.
Canned goods stored in a cool, dry place should be palatable for a lot longer and won't be harmful. 3-4 yr.? Maybe some loss of taste or vitamin levels but edible.
When I was a kid, nothing had a date. I'm sure I ate lots of 2-3 year old canned goods.

[JasonB]

From here: (http://www.cancentral.com/brochure/empire.htm)
"Sir William Edward Parry made two arctic expeditions to the Northwest Passage in the 1820's and took canned provisions on his journeys. One four-pound tin of roasted veal, carried on both trips but never opened, was kept as an artifact of the expedition in a museum until it was opened in 1938. The contents, then over one hundred years old, were chemically analyzed and found to have kept most of their nutrients and to be in fairly perfect condition. The veal was fed to a cat, who had no complaints whatsoever."

And this one (http://journals.aol.com/hfgayle/GaylesDiner/entries/802) also has some cannery codes to determine age:

"
Canned food has a shelf life of at least two years from the date of processing. Canned food retains its safety and nutritional value well beyond two years, but it may have some variation in quality, such as a change of color and texture. Canning is a high-heat process that renders the food commercially sterile. Food safety is not an issue in products kept on the shelf or in the pantry for long periods of time. In fact, canned food has an almost indefinite shelf life at moderate temperatures (75° F and below). Canned food as old as 100 years has been found in sunken ships and it is still microbiologically safe! We don't recommend keeping canned food for 100 years, but if the can is intact, not dented or bulging, it is edible."

I know a few guys that were in the military in the late 60's/early 70's that were issued WWII dated rations with the caveat about bulged ends.

By the way, I took preloaded zip lock bags of stuffing mix, ramen noodles,and cereal camping this past weekend(and these had been stuffed in my pack for several weeks and 2 day hikes before) and these worked like a charm when dumped boiling water in the bags so I may try getting Mountain House in a #10 can before the next trip since a freezer bag is a lot less bulky than the Mountain House bags.

[No Dog]

My father, who worked as a shipbuilder (gov't), once brought home some old (I think WWII era or older) survival rations that were being discarded. The only two things I recall from it were a thick cracker and something that was like very hard chewy taffy. I remember him referring to one of them as "hard tack" but I can't recall which it was. The stuff was edible, but not particularly enjoyable. I don't think it was any different from the day it was packed (based on my recollection of what he said at the time). Oh, he also had cans of water. I thought that was strange (I was a kid, this was in the early 1960s). They were regular cans, same size and construction as a can of Coke or Corn or Peas, painted in olive drab, with typical "government style" labeling printed on them, and filled with water.

I HAVE had commercial canned stuff go bad sitting on the shelf. Seems like tomato juice is the prime offender -- the stuff rots through the cans, leaks out, and sometimes it swells the cans before it leaks. I think you should NEVER consume ANY canned food that does NOT have a very strong vacuum.

[No Dog]

Originally posted by JasonB
From here: (http://www.cancentral.com/brochure/empire.htm)
"Sir William Edward Parry made two arctic expeditions to the Northwest Passage in the 1820's and took canned provisions on his journeys. One four-pound tin of roasted veal, carried on both trips but never opened, was kept as an artifact of the expedition in a museum until it was opened in 1938. The contents, then over one hundred years old, were chemically analyzed and found to have kept most of their nutrients and to be in fairly perfect condition. The veal was fed to a cat, who had no complaints whatsoever."

I'd wager that back then, those "tin cans" really WERE coated with TIN on the inside, unlke "modern" cans. That probably explains the amazing storage times. Tin is very expensive, though, so now they use "modern" coatings, which I think have a much shorter shelf life.

[JasonB]

Originally posted by No Dog
The only two things I recall from it were a thick cracker and something that was like very hard chewy taffy. I remember him referring to one of them as "hard tack" but I can't recall which it was.

The hard tack was probably the cracker. I have a cookbook that has a recipe for it and it requires poking several rows of holes in each piece for proper drying so it looks like a giant saltine. Tastes like bread and isn't too bad unless you screw it up. The last batch we made was too hard to bite through:)